Fool You Once
by Nehszriah
Summary: Something I wrote because I thought it was interesting: NamiOC.


I was talking on the "One Piece Debate" forum with some other users and the topic of OC/Nami came up. I thought it was interesting. I wanted to see more of that particular pairing, considering I'm not very observant about them laying around or the story hook sucked. Well, here's my version of OC/Nami, with a bit of Luffy/Nami and Robin/Nami just sort of randomly floating around. Spoilers up to the end of Post-Enies Lobby, though the bulk of the story's plot needs knowledge of the Arlong arc. I do not own _One Piece_. If my story's crap, I don't care, but tell me your opinion anyways.

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Fool You Once

1She had no idea as to why she kept her old fighting sticks around. She had changed crews countless times, changed ships even more and now that she found her place with nakama, those three interlocking sticks still sat in the corner of her room, locked into their quarterstaff form. The _Sunny_-go rocked gently in the waves, a mild squall thundering outside. Memories flooded back as Nami laid on her bed in the girls' quarters, memories that were not easy to take or forget. She hugged her pillow and stared blankly at the quarterstaff. Her mind was so far off, she was unaware of the navigator walking in and sitting down at the desk on the opposite side of the room.

"Is something wrong Nami?" Robin asked, not even turning her attention from the book she had spread out before her. Nami let out a little gasp and sighed when she realized who it was. She still was not used to Robin using her first name. It was a little quirk that was acquired after their final departure from Water Seven.

"It's nothing, really," she said, burying her face into her pillow. Nami suddenly found that a arm was gently touching her shoulder, the guilty limb having sprout up from the wall next to her. The navigator glanced over to find that the archaeologist was now looking directly at her.

"You and I are the same," Robin said plainly. She paused briefly to let the idea sink into Nami's thoughts. "Now, what is the matter?"

"Just my memories," Nami replied, sounding quite defeated. "The staff I used in battle before using Usopp's Climatact brings back memories. It was a gift from a previous captain."

"That Fishman Arlong? I remember hearing that story from both Usopp and Luffy together, so I know that is true."

"No, a different man." Nami glanced back at the quarterstaff and frowned. "It was the first crew I falsely joined. I was sixteen and stupid."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Robin offered. Nami did not answer and kept on gazing at her former weapon, her thoughts too engulfed with the past.

_**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**_

_The day was dark and gloomy, but she did not really care, as long as she was able to escape with her life and limbs intact. Nami ran down the slick cobblestone street of Juniper Village, four pursuers hot on her tail. She cursed herself as she turned a sharp corner into an alleyway, wishing she had not botched such an easy mission. Thunder rolled in the distance as rain began to pour from the sky, much harder than the showers of the afternoon._

Oh! I hate dogs, I hate dogs, I hate dogs! _Nami scowled. She slipped and fell, sliding on stone and scraping her shins open. Her wounds stung when the dirt and rainwater made contact. Looking up desperately to find where the men had gone to, she gasped when they were towering right above her._

"_Now we have you," said the one. He was the biggest of the four men and was the owner of the bank Nami had just robbed blind. She would have gotten away too, had it not been for a dog running between her legs, making her trip and spill the money all over the floor. Now, she only had about two thousand berri in stolen cash, not nearly enough to give to Arlong upon her return and was not even close to an amount worth killing over. Pain throbbed in her legs as she tried to shuffle backwards, but was immobilized by her injuries. An image of Arlong killing Nojiko flashed before her eyes as they went wide in fear, knowing that her failure to return would mean death for her foster sister and the entire village._

"_Hey, what do you think you are doing?" called out a voice. The four men paused long enough to see that there were three men standing in the alleyway about twenty metres away. Since the sky was so dark and the rain so thick, it was impossible to make out any distinguishing features, but it was a man's voice that had spoken all the same._

"_This bitch owes us money!" said one of the lesser men. The center stranger raised his hand and the figure to his right stepped forward. A pistol cocked somewhere and there was silence._

"_The way you are fighting her is extremely unfair," the man said again. "Back off, or we will have to use force. Four large men against such a lovely woman is hardly admirable."_

"_Stay out of business that isn't your's," the leader snarled. Suddenly, there was a gunshot slicing through the rain, sending the leader's left shoulder snapping backwards. The sound of footsteps and shouting came, and Nami found herself being lifted up and being carried._

"_Let me down!" she protested, beating against wet fabric that clung stiffly to a muscular frame. Instead of complying, her rescuer held tighter as the redhead fidgeted. Harsh rainwater blinded Nami's eyes, making her unable to see where she was going. It was not until she heard the unmistakable sound of boots treading on wooden planks did she know that she was in the wharf._

"_Hurry!" bellowed the man who was protesting in the alley. From the sound of his voice, she could tell that he was about two metres away, seemingly quite haggard at the recent episode. "Andre! Put the girl under and find Dominica! We need to get this ship sailing!"_

"_But...!" argued the man carrying Nami. His voice was deep and resonant, but cut off by a third man's voice._

"_Just trust him! This squall's almost over! We've got our supplies stashed on ship and we'll be far from this place before the sun comes out!"_

"_Fine!" The man carrying Nami grunted in discontent and ran up the gangplank. Nami could hear him open a door and suddenly, she was thrown down onto something soft._

_Wiping the rain from her eyes, Nami saw that standing before her, was a tall man, his dark ebony skin gleaming in the lamplight. He was soaked from the top of his bald head to his boots. A scowl ran across pursed lips and angry violet eyes as he scanned the rest of the room before grabbing a box off of the shelf and throwing it at Nami._

"_There," he said roughly, walking out the door. He was gone in less than a second, leaving the redhead alone in the bare room that consisted of only the shelf and the bed._

_It was another half an hour before Nami saw anyone else. She had wrapped up the abrasions on her shins with the bandages inside the box she was thrown and sat on the bed she had been roughly place upon. She dare did not move, for she did not know what sort of a ship she was on, let alone who she now belonged to. There was a soft knock on the door as the ship's convulsing slowed to a gentle rocking._

"_May we come in?" It was the first voice from the ally; the voice that started it all._

"_Yes," Nami replied. The door opened and in walked three men and a woman, all of whom were no more than two years older than herself. One was the large black man whose name Nami assumed was Andre, and he sat down on the floor with his arms and legs crossed akimbo, his nakama preferring to stand instead. Another man had dark olive skin, jet black hair and twinkling coffee-colored eyes while the other was absurdly pale, possessing black eyes and pure white hair. The woman was the only one who sat down on the bed next to Nami, long violet hair clinging to her back and yellow eyes set wearily on a face much like a porcelain doll._

"_Hello," said the olive-skinned man, holding out his hand. "My name is Nicolas and this is my ship_ Morgan. _This is my crew, Dominica, Andre and Sergio."_

"_My name is Nami." She shook the hand warily, attempting to read the stranger's eyes._

"_I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Nami-chan," Dominica smiled. "I am guessing that Nicolas-san saw you in trouble and decided to play hero, huh?"_

"_How did you know?" Nami asked._

"_That's how Dominica became a crew member," Andre said sourly. Dominica simply stuck out her tongue at the offender and smiled at Nami._

"_Would you like to join up? We're pirates."_

"_Only for a little while," Nami said, straining to keep her facial expression from turning sour. "That is, if it is alright with the captain."_

"_Of course it is," Nicolas laughed. "Besides, I doubt we can take you back to Juniper Village! It is no problem at all! There is one condition though."_

"_What is that?" Nami asked._

"_Just let Andre have his bed back," the captain grinned. "We've got a spare room just in case." Everyone laughed in agreement, even Andre._

_**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**_

_The months passed quickly. Nami was able to send a letter back to Arlong in secret, saying that she had found an even quicker way to accumulate the amount of money needed for their agreement. She became part of the Medlar Pirates, learning their ways and masquerading as being truly one of their own. Nami grew to know the four others on the small carrack as if she had known them for years, always knowing that eventually, she would have to leave them._

_The white-haired Sergio proved to be humorous when relaxed, always cracking jokes and making witty comebacks during conversation. He was a natural fighter, having trained most of his life to make each day one where he had to either live or die. He needed no weapons, always preferring his fists, feet and opponents as his weapons._

_Dominica was almost constantly sweet, a pure darling at heart. It was only when she saw blood did she ever even think so much as to frown. She was a berserker, bred from a warrior family, and always improvised her weapons for whatever it was her enemy had owned previous to the bloodbath. The first time Nami witnessed Dominica in battle was frightening, yet it was assured that the woman would never retaliate unless provoked with the threat of her life._

_Andre was a grouch, no two ways about it. He scowled from the moment he rose in the morning until he went to his quarters to sleep, only to pause for a select few of Sergio's jests. He was a gunman and master swordsman, able to take out entire divisions of lower-level Marines single-handedly, revenge resonating for a former love that had been slain by military hands. He was the first mate, protective and respectful of his captain and might have been the only one to see Nami for who she truly was._

_Nicolas was the best thing Nami could have ever asked for. All she had to do was ask nicely or pout and the entire world could have been hers. It was only later in her life, would the redhead discover that the only two other men so immediately accepting of her would be Luffy and Sanji of a later crew. He was a swordsman and a smithy by tradition, but his pirate spirit was strong and defiant. The young captain doted on his newest crew member, even going far enough to buy her the collapsible quarterstaff out of nowhere one day when they were in port. Nami knew it was inevitable that she would have to leave the Medlar Pirates one day, but could not help but to enjoy the captain's company. She felt for him in a way she never could have for the creature who technically owned her loyalty. There was admiration for his honor and loyalty to his crew, desire just to sometimes sit next to him during one of Dominica's dinners and nervousness whenever he caught her practicing fighting late at night when the others were all asleep._

_Nami would sit in her small bedroom and tear at her hair._ Not Nicolas, not Nicolas! _she would scream at herself, sitting on the edge of her bed and allowing her forehead to connect with the wall across from her. She was thankful for the private room at least, despite the fact it was rather cramped. Everyone had their own small quarters, with Nicolas's cabin being only slightly larger and at the bow of the ship. Nami had been in there only once._

_Sometimes, she thought that once, might have been too much…_

_**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**_

"Nami," Robin inquired, prodding her nakama in the shoulder with her actual hand. The archaeologist walked into the navigator's line of vision, making the younger jump back to reality. Nami sat up on the bed and realized that her face felt wet. She looked over at Robin, who was now seated on the bed next to her.

"Sorry Robin," she said softly. "I was just remembering."

"I guess as long as you fail to remember whatever it was in front of the rest of the crew," Robin shrugged, smiling slightly. "You, like me, had a former crew; is that what you were remembering?"

"Yeah," Nami said, her voice hollow. She flopped down on her side, the dampened pillow cushioning the side of her head. "I befriended the crew and captain like I did with Luffy, Zoro, Usopp and Sanji. The captain and I became very close. During our… time together, he discovered I was from Arlong's crew and swore to protect me from him. A week later, I left him to die in the middle of a military raid, buying off the officer and dropping the name of Arlong in the process. When I returned to the Fishmen, I shut myself up in my room for three entire days, swearing that I would never do something like that again."

"…then you did with this crew," Robin added, wanting to make sure Nami knew she was listening.

"No. I knew they could fight whatever came to them," Nami replied. "Nicolas, the last time I heard, had been executed, Andre and Sergio flanking him. I think the military still has Dominica, though I have no idea what her purpose is."

"Then I think I know what would be the best course of action," the older woman smiled kindly. Nami sat up and looked at her nakama, someone who had just recently gone through the exact same trial. Letting out a little laugh, Nami gave Robin a quick hug and bolted for the door. She barged out onto the deck, finding that everyone else, sans Sanji, were out on the deck either playing, or in Zoro's case, sleeping.

"Hey Nami, want to play with us?" Luffy asked, waving at the navigator. He grinned happily as Nami ran over towards them, but gasped when he saw her watery eyes and was even more startled when she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you," she whispered in his ear. Luffy chuckled slightly and hugged back, understanding somewhat. Usopp, Chopper and Franky just stared at the scene, unsure about how to continue their game without the captain. Nami noticed this and shoved herself away from the straw-hatted teen immediately, scowling at the gawkers.

"What are you looking at!?" she hissed. The three gasped and ran towards the other end of the ship, frightened by the sudden mood swing. Nami folded her arms and sighed, wondering what she was ever going to do with them.

"Hey Nami," Luffy said began. Nami turned to see that her captain was smiling at her.

"Yeah?"

"You're welcome."


End file.
